Lord of the Sabbath- Week 2
Sermon begins at about 30 min
Pastor Andrew Schmidt continues a new sermon series called “Lord of the Sabbath”, which continues our focus this year, “Year of the Lord”. This sermon series will center on the practice of Sabbath, and how God invites us into, and even commands us to, rest. This week Andrew focuses on Day, Time, and Rhythm in scripture addressing Sabbath.
Audio: (posted on Tuesdays)
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Scriptures:
Full Sermon Notes:
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” is one of the 10 commandments.
It states that on six days you should do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you should not do any work. (Exodus 20:8-10)
Sabbath reality is entering time in a different way. Aspects that help us engage in this reality include an encouragement for us to:
Stop & Rest:
Break from getting stuff & stuff done
Slow, Silence, Sleep, Solitude
Worship & Delight:
The Lord’s Day
Celebration of Creation
Celebrate & Remember:
Food in Jesus’ Name
God’s provision & saving power
The goal for our series won’t be to figure out exactly when and what and how the Sabbath is supposed to look like. Rather it is to explore how to incorporate Sabbath reality into our lives maybe even just a little bit at a time.
The New Testament indicates that there is flexibility in keeping the Sabbath (which day of the week, etc.).
Jesus strongly discourages a legalistic approach to keeping the Sabbath day.
But Jesus also share that the Sabbath was made for humans. Implying that it is good for humanity, a gift to humanity that he encourages us to observe. (Mark 2:27-28)
The end of the Sabbath commandment points us to the creation account (Exodus 20:11).
The opening page of the Bible (Genesis 1:1-2:4) is a sophisticated Hebrew poem.
It is filled with patterns and repeated words/phrases.
One pattern can be illustrated as follows:
God separates: God fills:
Day 1 Day 4
Light – Darkness Sun – Moon & Stars
Day 2 Day 5
Water – Sky Fish – Birds
Day 3 Day 6
Water – Land Animals – Humanity
In observing the above pattern we note that Day 7 (when God made the 7th day holy) stands alone, separate, highlighted in an important way.
Chiasms are also used in Hebrew poetry. In an inverted chiasm the reader is encouraged to pay attention to the bookends. And the middle points is usually intended to be the main point or most important point of the section. In more elaborate chaisms the “treasure is hidden in the middle. Below is an example of an inverted chiasm pattern.
A
B
C
D
C
B
A
The creation account seemingly highlights the material world being brought into existence. But a careful reading notes the emphasis on time in the creation:
Day 1: Time (Day & Night)
Day 4: Time (mark seasons, days, years)
Day 7: Time (Sabbath Day)
If you count all the Hebrew words in this opening poem, you will find that the word in the middle is the Hebrew word in which the NIV translates “sacred times”. This word is often translated to indicate sabbaths. ‘Sacred Time’ is the hidden treasure in the middle.
Another pattern to pay attention to is the repeated phrase “and there was evening and there was morning on the ___ day.”
For us the day starts in the morning. The day starts when we do.
But for the Hebrews (based on God’s word in Scripture) the day starts in the evening. God is taking care of the world while we start our day by sleeping and trusting him.
Humanity was created on day six. This means that their first full day was the Sabbath day. Their first day wasn’t about what they had to do. Rather God invites humanity to join Him in enjoying creation.
The 7th day is the only day that doesn’t say there was “evening and morning”. Rabbis suggest that this is because the Sabbath is an eternal reality. A reality which is filled with God’s Presence in a tangible unique way. It is sacred time.
A word that can be meditated on in relation to Sabbath is “enough”:
Enough: I don’t need to do more, buy more or view more right now
Enough: God is and has enough for me and my life
Enough: Exchange my ‘never enough’ for God’s ‘always enough’
